The Viking Age (approximately 793–1066 CE) conjures images of seafaring Norse warriors launching raids across Europe, forging trade routes, and influencing the development of medieval societies. Among these figures, the legendary “shield maiden” stands out: a female warrior, equally skilled in battle as her male counterparts. But how much of this popular image reflects historical reality? Were there truly female warriors in Norse society, and if so, what evidence supports their existence? Below, we delve into the historical sources, archaeological findings, and scholarly debates to paint a comprehensive picture of the Norse shield maiden.
1. The Literary Legacy: Sagas and Chronicles
1.1 Saxo Grammaticus and the Gesta Danorum
One of the earliest references to female Norse warriors appears in the work of Saxo Grammaticus, a 12th-century Danish historian. In his Gesta Danorum (History of the Danes), Saxo describes women taking up arms and participating in warfare. He uses terms akin to “virile maidens,” underscoring that these women were stepping into traditionally male roles. Saxo notes:
“There were once women in Denmark who dressed themselves to look like men and spent almost every minute cultivating soldier’s skills . . . They put toughness before trinkets and were everywhere free with their spears.”(Saxo Grammaticus, Gesta Danorum, Book VII)
While critics have argued that Saxo’s work, composed centuries after the Viking Age, is colored by Christian ideology and the author’s desire to tell grand stories, the consistent depiction of these “shield maidens” is noteworthy. Some modern scholars see Saxo’s accounts as a blend of myth and historical memory. Nevertheless, Gesta Danorum remains one of the most cited medieval sources indicating that women may have participated in combat roles during—or at least near—the Viking Age.
1.2 The Sagas: Legend, Lore, and Possibly Reality
Norse sagas, such as the Saga of the Volsungs and other Icelandic family sagas, often portray strong, sometimes warrior-like female figures. Characters like Brynhild in the Saga of the Volsungs are not merely passive onlookers; instead, they wield significant agency and, at times, martial skill. Although Brynhild is more often presented as a valkyrie (a supernatural chooser of the slain) than a mortal shield maiden, her depiction nonetheless illustrates the cultural acceptance of women adopting warrior roles—at least in literary contexts.
In the Saga of the Volsungs, Brynhild declares:
“I have chosen to ride with the bravest in battle, and I will not yield my place to any mortal man.”(Saga of the Volsungs, Chapter 21)
Such passages blend myth and reality, but they highlight a recurring theme: women are capable of martial prowess. In many sagas, shield maidens appear as secondary characters, mentors, or even antagonists, illustrating a social ideal—or at least a narrative device—that recognized female combatants.
2. Archaeological Evidence: The Birka Warrior and Beyond
2.1 The Birka Warrior Grave (Bj 581)
For decades, mention of shield maidens relied largely on literary evidence and speculation. This changed dramatically in 2017, when a high-profile archaeological study re-examined a Viking Age grave in Birka, Sweden—known as grave Bj 581. Originally excavated in the late 19th century, the grave contained weapons, gaming pieces (indicating strategic planning or leadership), and the remains of what had been assumed to be a high-status male warrior. However, modern genetic testing revealed the skeleton to be biologically female.
As Charlotte Hedenstierna-Jonson and her fellow researchers from Uppsala University stated:
“The identification of a female Viking warrior provides a unique insight into social constructs in the societies of the time.”(Hedenstierna-Jonson et al., 2017, American Journal of Physical Anthropology)
This discovery caused a significant stir in both scholarly and popular circles. If this individual possessed the grave goods of a warrior—swords, axes, spears, and gaming pieces—then it strongly suggests that female warriors of high status could, and did, exist during the Viking Age. Critics have countered that the woman might have been symbolically buried with such goods or that she belonged to a family of warriors. However, the presence of the gaming board, commonly associated with military strategy, hints that this woman held a leadership or tactical role.
2.2 Other Finds and the Ongoing Debate
Although the Birka grave is the most famous example, there have been other burials across the Viking world containing female remains alongside weapons. The exact interpretation of these remains varies: weapons could be heirlooms, status symbols, or purely ceremonial. Nonetheless, each new discovery pushes us to reconsider the notion that Viking Age warfare was an exclusively male domain.
Lotte Hedeager, in her book Iron Age Myth and Materiality, remarks:
“Recurrent finds of female-associated weaponry throughout Northern Europe indicate that the motif of the armed woman was not merely a mythic or symbolic trope but part of a lived social reality.”(Hedeager, 2011, Iron Age Myth and Materiality, p. 72)
While the debate is far from settled, growing archaeological evidence suggests that some women in Norse society did indeed take on martial roles, whether as a matter of necessity, prestige, or choice.
3. How Would Shield Maidens Have Trained?
3.1 Physical Conditioning
If shield maidens existed as actual warriors, they would have required rigorous training similar to that of their male counterparts. Viking-age warfare emphasized strength, agility, and endurance. Combatants had to wield heavy swords, axes, and shields, while wearing leather or mail armor. Even if the typical shield maiden was not as physically imposing as a fully grown male warrior, it is likely she trained to maximize speed, resilience, and technique.
3.2 Weapons Practice and Drills
From historical sources and experimental archaeology, we know that training in the Viking Age likely involved:
Weapons Drills: Practicing strikes, blocks, and stances with swords, spears, or axes.
Shield Work: Learning the use of the round wooden shield—an essential tool in close combat and shield walls.
Group Tactics: Vikings often fought in tight formations, so a shield maiden would have had to coordinate her movements with fellow warriors.
Professor Judith Jesch, a specialist in Viking studies, has pointed out that:
“If women were to participate in battle, even sporadically, they would need a certain level of training—both physically and in the strategies of warfare.”(Jesch, 1991, Women in the Viking Age, p. 45)
Though precise training regimens are lost to time, textual references to strong women fighting in sagas and the presence of female warriors in art, such as the Oseberg tapestry fragments, hint that at least some women were knowledgeable in handling arms.
4. Beliefs About the Afterlife: Valhalla or Beyond?
4.1 The Valkyries and Valhalla
Central to Norse cosmology is the concept of Valhalla, the great hall presided over by the god Odin, where those who die heroically in battle are said to reside. According to the Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson, valkyries—divine maidens serving Odin—select which warriors are worthy of entry.
But did mortal shield maidens believe they, too, would enter Valhalla upon falling in battle? If they fought bravely and died with sword in hand, there is reason to believe they might. A woman who perished on the battlefield may have been seen as equally worthy of Valhalla, especially if her community recognized her martial status.
Snorri Sturluson writes:
“These maidens are sent by Odin to every battle, where they choose who shall die, and the slain they bring to dwell with the Allfather.”(Sturluson, Prose Edda, Gylfaginning)
Whether mortal shield maidens believed they’d be chosen by these same valkyries is open to interpretation. Some historians posit that the line between mortal female warriors and supernatural valkyries was often blurred in popular imagination.
4.2 Fólkvangr, Hel, and Other Possibilities
Norse afterlife beliefs were multifaceted. Apart from Valhalla, another realm for the chosen slain is Fólkvangr, overseen by the goddess Freya. In Grímnismál (a poem from the Poetic Edda), it is stated:
“Freya chooses half the slain each day, and Odin takes the other half.”(Poetic Edda, Grímnismál, stanza 14)
Thus, a shield maiden who died in battle could theoretically end up in Freya’s hall, Sessrúmnir, within Fólkvangr, or in Odin’s Valhalla. Those who did not die heroically might traverse to Hel, a more neutral realm of the dead. The beliefs, while complex, underscore that bravery in battle conferred great honor, and shield maidens—if they existed—would likely have shared these aspirations.
5. Were They Real?
5.1 Historical vs. Mythical
The question of whether Norse shield maidens truly existed is not a simple yes or no. Early scholarship tended to dismiss them as purely mythological, a literary device used by saga authors. But as more archaeological evidence surfaces—such as the Birka warrior grave—the idea of real, flesh-and-blood female fighters gains traction.
Modern scholarship does not suggest that large ranks of Viking women went into battle. Rather, it posits that a smaller subset—perhaps exceptional individuals—may have taken up arms. Shield maiden stories and saga references could reflect these rare cases, later magnified into legend.
5.2 The Ongoing Scholarly Debate
There remains significant debate within the academic community. Some argue that “shield maiden” stories exaggerate the role of women in warfare, focusing on rare outliers. Others see the consistent thread in primary sources, combined with the Birka find and other burials, as evidence that female warriors had legitimate roles in certain contexts—defending homesteads, raiding when necessary, or even leading troops.
Neil Price, a prominent Viking Age archaeologist, remarks:
“We should not underestimate the flexibility and fluidity of Norse social roles. The presence of a handful of genuine female warriors is no longer so easily dismissed.”(Price, 2014, The Viking Way: Magic and Mind in Late Iron Age Scandinavia, p. 256)
6. Conclusion
The figure of the Norse shield maiden straddles the boundary between history and myth. Literary sources like Gesta Danorum and the Icelandic sagas paint vivid tales of warrior women, while archaeological finds—most notably the Birka warrior grave—suggest there is some basis in reality. Whether they formed large, organized cohorts or remained exceptional cases, these women challenged societal norms and left an indelible mark on the Norse cultural imagination.
As for their beliefs about the afterlife, it is highly plausible that those who fought and died with weapons in hand hoped to be chosen by valkyries for Valhalla or to dwell with Freya in Fólkvangr. The Viking Age was a time of dynamic cultural fluidity, and any woman who dared to pick up a shield and sword could have aspired to the same heroic ideals and divine rewards as her male counterparts.
In short, while the image of the shield maiden has been romanticized and sometimes exaggerated, mounting evidence from literary and archaeological sources indicates that a segment of Norse women did indeed train, fight, and possibly even lead in battle. Their stories continue to fascinate us, bridging the gap between the sagas’ mythical grandeur and the real potential for female martial agency in a world dominated by warfare and shifting power structures.
References Cited
Saxo Grammaticus. Gesta Danorum. 12th century.
Quoted passage from Book VII.
Saga of the Volsungs. 13th century (anonymous).
Quoted passage from Chapter 21.
Charlotte Hedenstierna-Jonson et al. (2017). “A female Viking warrior confirmed by genomics.” American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 164(4), 853–860.
Quoted passage: “The identification of a female Viking warrior provides a unique insight into social constructs in the societies of the time.”
Hedeager, Lotte (2011). Iron Age Myth and Materiality: An Archaeology of Scandinavia, AD 400–1000. Routledge.
Quoted passage from p. 72.
Jesch, Judith (1991). Women in the Viking Age. Boydell Press.
Quoted passage from p. 45.
Sturluson, Snorri. Prose Edda.
Quoted from Gylfaginning.
Poetic Edda.
Quoted from Grímnismál, stanza 14.
Price, Neil (2014). The Viking Way: Magic and Mind in Late Iron Age Scandinavia. Oxbow Books.
Quoted passage from p. 256.
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